MMC 52pp M10 WEB

Offsite Construction
is Here to Stay
see us at
Offsite,
stand no.
D21
Recent press coverage has focussed heavily on Offsite Construction providing the answer in a number of key sectors,
due to the speed and efficiency of modular construction.
Premier Modular has been delivering
award winning offsite and volumetric
solutions for more than 60 years and
prides itself on its ability to provide the highest
quality buildings, offering a skilled and
knowledgeable design and build service. Part
of a large multi-national industrial group, Waco
International, Premier has the strong financial
backing provided by the Group, which has
enabled it to build a substantial modular hire
fleet. This coupled with the manufacturing
capacity offered by a 22 acre site means that
Premier is ideally suited to deliver quality
buildings for both hire and sale throughout the
UK, no matter how large or small.
Premier’s ability to deliver a modular solution
on a massive scale is evidenced by the series of
modular complexes they have provided at
Hinkley Point C in Somerset. The buildings
deliver 38,000 sqm of offices and welfare
facilities to house all the management and
technical personnel required for the
construction phase of the new nuclear power
station. The HPC requirement for the best
temporary welfare and office facilities in the
UK, delivered within a strict timescale, was a
challenge Premier met and achieved and
resulted in their being appointed to deliver an
additional modular complex for the critically
important infrastructure project.
Developing such strong client relationships is at
the core of Premier’s approach and their recent
partnership with ISG has delivered 8 school
facilities in 12 months as part of Manchester
City Council’s Education Basic Needs
framework. The first school, St Margaret’s
CofE Primary School, was chosen by
Manchester City Council to be their first pilot for
delivering a project to BIM Level 2, including
their first Asset Information Model. The 775m2
2-storey building provided new nursery facilities
and 3 reception classrooms, enabling the
school to expand and accommodate an
additional form of entry. This scheme was
named as the winner of the Digital Construction
category in the North West Regional
Construction Awards for 2018, as well as
receiving Highly Commended in the Integration
and Collaborative Working category.
Standardisation in construction delivery
produces better end product quality, reduction
in manufacturing costs, reduced design costs
with less waste and can be achieved through
the use of standardised components,
prefabricated panels and modular construction.
This volumetric approach to construction was
used in the award winning construction of a 5
storey student accommodation block, The
Foundry, in Newcastle City Centre, delivered in
partnership with Sir Robert McAlpine. This
block consisted of a mixture of 54 studio flats,
105 ensuite bedrooms and 2 accessible rooms,
associated living spaces, kitchens and study
areas.
The speed of delivery for this project gave the
investors a whole year of additional return and
was a deciding factor in the project being
named as the Project of the Year (up to £10m) at
the Construction News Awards.
This approach has also been used to great
effect in other residential projects and following
their appointment to the CHIC BuildSmart
framework, Premier have worked closely with
their framework partners to develop
standardised housing products, delivered within
an EU-compliant framework – the perfect
solution to the critically important delivery of
housing stock highlighted frequently in the
news.
The standard designs, coupled with CHIC’s
existing proven materials supply chain, has
resulted in a more cost efficient, quality product,
with speed of delivery. Whilst the cost benefits
of this scheme have been delivered by the
development of a standardised product,
flexibility is still available to procure bespoke
designs and solutions where required.
Premier’s forward thinking attitude means that
they are always looking for product
improvements and innovation; Premier believes
that the fire resistance of buildings is very
important, whether for a temporary or
permanent building. At Premier we feel it is not
good enough to provide our clients with an
assumption that our buildings are ‘fire proof’
based on various codes and data sheets. When
developing our latest product, as part of our
quality control during development, we ensured
the product went through real life fire tests and
received certification for this.
In a market where shortages exist, building
standards are extremely high and sustainability
is of growing importance, standardisation and
offsite construction as delivered by Premier has
to be a big part of the solution.
www.premiermodular.co.uk
38 MMC
Nov 2018 M10